The Artist as Parasite: Aesthetic Autonomy and Social Dependency in Under the Net

Mohamed Raffic; Ajmal Khaan

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.57907

The Artist as Parasite: Aesthetic Autonomy and Social Dependency in Under the Net

Author(s)	Mr. Mohamed Raffic, Prof. Dr. Ajmal Khaan
Country	India
Abstract	Under the Net, a novel by Iris Murdoch published in 1954, provides an engrossing examination of the paradoxes at play in the contemporary artist's position in relation to society. Murdoch explores the conflict between artistic independence and social dependence through the character of Jake Donaghue, a literary hack, translator, and self-proclaimed parasite. Jake, according to this article, personifies a contradictory archetype: the artist who asserts his or her independence in thinking and creating, yet is nevertheless emotionally and financially dependent on other people. This research utilizes Murdoch's philosophical musings on truth, language, moral duty, and the limitations of self-knowledge to place Under the Net within the context of postwar British discussions over intellectual roles, art commodification, and parasitism ethics. The study examines Jake's interactions with Hugo Belfounder, Anna Quentin, Magdalen, and Finn to show how Murdoch defends the artist's desire for solitude, space, and independence from practical concerns while criticising idealised ideas of creative brilliance. In the end, parasitism is reframed in Under the Net as a prerequisite for intellectual and creative contemplation in a world that is becoming increasingly inhospitable to non-productive living forms, rather than a moral failing.
Keywords	parasitism, aesthetic autonomy, social dependency, literary hack, philosophy and fiction, ethics of art, intellectual labor
Field	Sociology > Linguistic / Literature
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 5, September-October 2025
Published On	2025-10-21
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.57907

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The Artist as Parasite: Aesthetic Autonomy and Social Dependency in Under the Net

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